Who You Are
by celestialbookworm
Summary: The guild has been feeling especially comfortable as of late, but dark forces threaten to throw them into a whole new world of obstacles, adversaries, and unexpected grief. Fairy tail can choose to fight...but nobody said they would win. And nobody said they'd come out of it unscathed.
1. Prologue

Who You Are: Prologue

Prologue

She couldn't breathe. Her lungs ached and for a moment she thought that she might collapse. She ran through the puddle-filled streets and in the back of her mind she realized that the air was cold enough for each frantic breath to come out in a large puff. Not many people in Magnolia were usually out and about at 4 am on a rainy day. So, although they would have liked to have known the answer, nobody stopped the young mage to ask her where exactly, she was heading wearing only her pajamas and a muddy pair of socks. The innocent townspeople had simply carried on with their morning, blissfully ignorant, and soon had forgotten that they had ever even seen her. She was desperately trying to reach her guild while simultaneously trying to protect the books and papers clutched to her chest. They needed this information, and they needed it now, or they were all going to be in serious trouble. She had just rounded the corner with her destination in sight when she had been struck from behind. The last thing young Levy McGarden remembered was wishing that she could go back to the beginning and warn every one of the pain that was about to come.

And then everything faded to black.


	2. Chapter 1: Good Morning

"DAMN YOU LUCY HEARTFILIAAAAA!"

And there it was.

The reaction that Lucy had been patiently waiting for.

"How could you? I thought we were friends!"

"Oh Levy, don't be so dramatic."

"How could I not be upset, when you have just single handedly killed off the second best character in the entire novel? Have you no heart? Have you no soul? What about the readers? What about…"

Lucy wanted to listen, she really did, but it was six a.m. and she wanted even more to just sit down, relax, and drink her tea. So she substituted attention with nodding, and an occasional "there, there" and allowed her friend to rant and blubber for a little longer before she had to go meet Natsu at the guild. Once Levy had finished she flopped onto the couch with all the grace of a walrus and attempted to fix the blue birds nest she called her hair. Only then did Lucy notice her appearance. Large gray sweatpants, baggy white shirt decorated with a large ominous stain (Was that mustard?), messy bun, finger smudged reading glasses, and a large pair of fuzzy boots. All in all, she looked like she hadn't slept a single wink last night and was about damn ready to throttle the first person to piss her off this morning. Assuming that it would most likely be Gajeel, the blonde sent a silent good luck out into the universe for the poor, unknowing dragon slayer. She decided that Natsu could learn to wait and exercise some patience today, as her friend would probably like to eat some breakfast. She set aside her teacup, sighed, and then stood up to go put on a pot of coffee.

"I told you that you weren't going to like this chapter, but you insisted that I let you read it."

"Yah well, you also could have told me that it was going to rip my heart out."

Levy moved to drop into a dining chair and Lucy couldn't help but giggle at her friend's grumpy attitude.

"In all seriousness, what were you really thinking about that part? I felt like there was something missing maybe."

Her friend looked slightly confused before answering.

"Are you kidding me? It was perfect! That part where he sings to her as she's dying and then puts flowers in her hair? I must have bawled my eyes out for thirty minutes _at least_."

Lucy chuckled at the mix of sadness, pride, and twisted glee displayed on her friend's face. After pouring her a cup of coffee, Lucy heated up some left over pancakes and sausages for the both of them since she was already feeling hungry again. They ate in companionable silence until she asked what else Levy had done last night that kept her up. Her friend sighed and decided to chew on the rest of her breakfast before she was going to respond. Lucy sported a slight pout, but it was really fine since she had to start getting ready anyway. After washing dishes, taking a shower, and making sure that she was presentable for the day it was finally time to leave. Lucy made sure to lock her door before she and Levy headed down the steps of her apartment building and on their way to the guild.


	3. Chapter 2: Spring Magnolias

Lucy licked her lips and silently relished in the small puffs of steam that formed with each breath. These few weeks were her favorite time of the year; when the mornings were cold and quiet and the afternoons were slightly warm and breezy. Spring always felt so peaceful and watching the little flowers start to appear and grow from underneath the melting snow always seemed to soothe her worries away. Magnolia seemed to blossom in the new season as if the town itself were waking up after a long few months of hibernation and as Lucy looked to her left at her little friend, a content smile spread across her face, when she once again silently thanked the universe for sending her to a new life with Fairy Tail. Levy seemed to be lost in thought, staring blankly ahead while chewing her lip, when Lucy decided to break the comfortable silence.

"How have things been with you lately? It seems like every time I see you, you're carrying a stack of books and rushing between jobs and libraries. It feels like I haven't seen you in weeks."

Levy closed her eyes and gave a small sigh of defeat before answering.

"It's all been really crazy Lu. Master has me researching some artifact that Alzack brought back from his last job in Clover Field, for a client that wants to buy it from the guild. He wants to know how much the artifact is really worth and if we should be giving it to civilians in the first place, but the damn thing is so obscure, there's barely any information on it, and it feels like I'm constantly scrambling after anything I can get. To add on to it, Jet and Droy keep nagging me about spending too much time with my books and are constantly trying to convince me to go on a job with them. It's honestly exhausting."

"Is that why you look like you didn't sleep at all last night?"

"Not exactly."

Levy averted her eyes and Lucy could tell she didn't want to talk about it but she wouldn't be Lucy if she didn't at least try to prod a little.

"Oh come on! You can tell me. I won't tell anyone, I promise."

Her friend seemed hesitant but with a huff she spilled all about the small fight that she had with Gajeel the night before over her recent activities. Apparently Gajeel had told her that she needed to rest more and take better care of herself after he found her sleeping at the guildhall. One thing lead to another and Levy wound up staying up the whole night researching the artifact just to spite the poor guy.

Lucy giggled at her friend's dramatics. Gajeel was always acting like Levy didn't get her way but he still put up with these stupid stunts she pulled, just to appease the small ball of stubborn that he called a girlfriend. It was nice to see them bicker and worry over each other. Listening to Levy talk about it though, kind of made her miss Natsu. Her partner was due back today but a week ago he had rushed off on a job without telling her, and when she finally got ahold of his communication lacrima and asked where he'd gone, he did his stupid ninja pose and hung up. She swore that the damn fool would be the death of her but it wasn't like she would be able to stop him, he was Natsu after all. The guild had been a fraction less lively without Natsu and she hated to admit it but it made her feel just a smidge lonely, so without even realizing she had begun to speed up her walk to the guild.

"Lucy! Hey, slowdown! You're gonna-"

"Ouch!"

Lucy had been a little lost in her thoughts and accidentally bumped into somebody on the street. Clutching her head, she looked to see a man on the ground in front of her. She rushed to help him, asking him if he was okay, and apologizing profusely for not paying attention and being careless. The man was tall and looked just a few years older than Lucy, a little closer to Laxus's age, and was clutching a travel bag and a piece of paper. Lucy once again asked if he was okay and when he looked up to respond his eyes widened just a fraction. Lucy's head hurt quite a bit but she thought she saw him mouth something. Then he was gone, pushing past her and Levy and speeding off down the street and around the corner.

\

"Huh. What a strange character..."

"Yah…"

"Anyway, let's get to the guild Lu; I've got this book I wanna take a look at in Fairy Tail's library."

"Oh Levy, can't you just take a little break? You didn't sleep one bit last night and that probably wasn't the first time. It's unhealthy."

"I'll sleep when I'm dead Lu. Right now I've got a book to look through."

"Ugh."

Lucy loved her friend, she really did, but every now and then she would understand if Gajeel one day decided to rip all of his hair out in frustration; she was just so stubborn. They continued to make their way to the guild hall, and Lucy couldn't help but give a warm smile at the thought of spending the day in the midst of her Fairy Tail family.

Around the corner, the strange young man stopped and leaned against the brick wall to catch his breath. He hadn't expected to run into her in such a large town so quickly. That was her, the girl he'd been looking for. Wasn't it? He didn't see the mark so he couldn't be sure but he couldn't help but stare down at the picture in his hand of what looked like a very young version of the girl he just bumped into on the street, holding her mother and father's hands.

"Lucy?"


	4. Chapter 3: Fire and Pancakes

Opening the wooden guild doors had sent a rush of warm air out onto the front step, and Lucy took a moment to close her eyes and listen to the merriment happening inside. Stepping in, the content smile on her face grew into a large grin and that same warmth from before found its way in and spread throughout her chest. She felt happiest here and everyday was a new adventure or a new memory that she wouldn't trade for the world. Lucy made her way to the bar but took time to say hello or shriek at some of the more ridiculous members.

Laughter and the smell of breakfast moved through the guild as Lucy happily ate her pancakes. Gray had stopped to sit down and they had a really great conversation about everything happening with them lately. It was nice talking to Gray because he was a really great listener. He was intelligent and rational (most of the time) and was relatively easy to hold a conversation with. Sure, he could be a bit harsh or cold but in her time with Fairy Tail and after everything all of them had gone through together, Gray had come to be like an older brother to her. They watched out for each other, listened, laughed, and would often bond through relaxing together when the guild just got to be too much. His presence soon became regular and comforting, especially these past couple days with Natsu gone. He was the one that helped keep the loneliness at bay.

Lucy genuinely hoped that he would get it together with Juvia, but she wasn't sure it would be happening too soon. She would most likely have to continue to fend off the scary glares from Juvia, but she couldn't help but hope that spring would bring new love and happiness to her guild, including herself. It'd been a long time since Lucy had gone on a date. She'd been so busy with jobs and her novel that she really just couldn't find the time to go out and meet anybody that would meet her high standards. As a mage, she met new people every day, but for some reason none of them seemed to generate any romantic interest. Poor Mira was probably dying to set her up, and maybe one of these days she would take the crazy woman up on her offer. Natsu would probably try to intimidate whoever she chose, just like he always did. Stupid.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Gray snapping his fingers in front of her face, and bringing her back to reality.

"Wow, you were pretty out of it…penny for your thoughts?"

"It's nothing, really."

"You're missing Flame head?"

"No! Why would I miss that idiot?!...I think I'm just...worried about him. It's really unusual for him to just up and leave like that, especially without any of us with him."

"Well, I mean, not really if you think about it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's been a long time since it happened but he used to do it all the time before you came around. He was pretty reckless, and don't get me wrong, he loved us and everyone else in the guild, but he was gone pretty often. He was always off investigating some rumor and searching for Igneel, and then you came around and suddenly he had someone waiting for him back home."

Lucy blushed when she realized what Gray meant. It was true that Natsu was often near her, since the two had grown practically inseparable over the time they had known each other, even more so after the Grand Magic Games. Of course, not everyone in the guild knew about the little incident that occurred involving the death of her future self. She still sometimes had nightmares, but most nights, the stupid idiot had already snuck into her bed and was there to comfort her and talk to her about it. He was always reminding her that they were safe and he would do everything in his power to keep it that way. She guessed she understood what Gray was talking about, but when she tried to imagine life at the guild without Natsu's constant presence, she couldn't and that baffled her for a few moments as she contemplated the impact that the flaming fool had on her.

"Wow. He's really on your mind isn't he?"

Gray laughed as Lucy turned red and immediately started yelling and getting defensive.

'Just like a true Fairy Tail mage,' he thought. In the back of his mind he had the smallest hope that Natsu would get his shit together for Lucy's sake. The guy was devoted, he'd give him that, but he wasn't sure that would be enough to make the dynamic between him and Lucy last. 'Dude has got to learn how to take a look at reality and grow up.'

But for now the slight upturn at the corner of Lucy's mouth told him everything he needed to know.

A moment later the guild doors burst open and a small wave of heat made its way throughout the room. Lucy already knew who it was but turned around in her seat to make sure. As she expected, her eyes landed on Natsu, squinty-eyed and large infectious smile, standing in the doorway carrying a large burlap sack on one shoulder and a disgruntled pink Happy on the other. Lucy decided to make Natsu work a little harder than usual in apologizing and turned around to ignore him and finish her breakfast.

"I'm back!"

Various greetings traveled amongst Natsu and the members as he walked over to Mira to update his status with the mission to complete. He also decided to order a meal and with a bit of sweet talking and silly face induced giggles, he was able to to convince her to light it on fire for him so that he could restore his magic quicker; however, she did charge him extra. He'd already smelled Lucy when he entered the guild, so he searched for her blonde head of hair and walked over to the table where he'd spotted her eating with Gray.

"Heya Luce!"

Silence. Lucy continued to eat her food as if he hadn't sat down a little over a foot away from her. Natsu figured she just hadn't heard him. Lucy was weird like that sometimes.

"Hey! Luce, look it's me! I'm back!"

Still nothing. Natsu's face screwed up in confusion and Lucy just continued to pretend he didn't exist, even going so far as to look up at Gray and speak to him.

"Gray do you hear something?"

Gray snickered at the disgruntled look on Natsu's face and decided to play along with Lucy's little charade.

"Why, whatever do you mean?"

"Well, you know, I _thought_ that I heard my partner sit down and try to talk to me, but that _can't_ be right because he would _never_ suddenly leave on a mission without me and then not talk to me or get in touch with me, forcing me to worry about him for a whole week. He would _never-_ "

"ALRIGHT LUCE! I-I get it ok?"

Gray scoffed at Natsu's response. It was as he thought, one of these days Natsu was gonna need to grow up.

"You got somethin' to say Popsicle?"

"Focus on your current problem, lame brain. You know where to find me." And with that Gray got up and walked over to the bar in an attempt to avoid the argument that he knew was coming.

"Ugh, that guy…" Natsu clenched his fist and glared at Gray's back.

"Ahem."

Natsu looked back at Lucy as if he had just remembered that she was there and quite upset with him, and she could feel a headache coming on. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples and when she looked back at Natsu he was looking down and patiently waiting to be scolded. 'Well at least he's got the decency to look guilty about it,' she thought. She looked back up at him again and let out a heavy sigh. She couldn't stay mad at him for long and all of the tension in her shoulders fell away.

"You understand why I'm upset right?"

"I think so. I'm really sorry Lucy. I'll try not to do it again."

"Alright"

Lucy could accept that. He hadn't meant to upset her, he had simply been his reckless self, and most days that's what she loved about her best friend. Today was just one of the days when it made her worry about him and she wasn't used to it. She smiled at him as he absent mindedly slurped at a flame from his food. He was real cute when he felt guilty, almost like a puppy.

"So you gonna tell me about this super-secret mission?"

He looked up to see her doing his signature ninja pose and a large grin broke out on his face. He spent the next 30 minutes recounting to her the details of his latest mission. She listened enthusiastically when he told her about all of the cool monsters he got to fight, laughed at his description of all of the crazy characters he met, and jumped right into enjoying the stories that he had to share with her. The two had become lost in their own world and the rest of the guild sat back and relished in the happy aura coming from their direction of the building. This was what Natsu liked the most about Lucy, the way she enjoyed his adventures, even when she went on them and complained all the time, because in the end she always took his hand and followed him to their next one. They were busy laughing at the story of how Happy came to be pink when the guild doors opened and let in a slight breeze and soft ray of sunshine.

"Um, hello, I'm looking for Lucy Heartfilia?"


	5. Chapter 4: Déjà Vu

Chapter 4

Lucy turned at the sound of her name and her eyes widened in surprise at the man from this morning standing in the doorway of the guild. He looked a bit nervous as his eyes searched for her and then finally landed on her sitting down with Natsu. As he began to walk over to her Lucy had a chance to take in his entire form. He was tall and well built, as if he had worked his entire life. His shoulder length golden blonde hair was tied back at the base of his neck and a light layer of scruff surrounded a strong jaw. Judging from his sun-kissed complexion, lengthy hair, and well worn-in clothes, he had clearly been traveling for quite some time. However, the strangest part of his appearance was his eyes; large, chocolate brown, and doe-like, they were warm and innocent, contrasting with his entire appearance, but seemed kind and somewhat familiar. She couldn't quite put her finger on it and as he walked up to her and looked into her eyes she felt a strange sort of connection to them, like she had seen them somewhere or known them in a past life. He set down his dirty travel bag and extended his hand in Lucy's direction with a knowing grin spread across his face.

"Hey there, you don't know me, I'm Cyrus Laurel."

He seemed genuine enough and Lucy hesitated for a moment before she took his hand. It was warm and rough; she guessed she was right about him working for a long time, and large enough to completely engulf her own small hand.

"Do you mind if I sit?"

As he pulled out a chair for himself, she noticed for the first time the small creature clinging to the back of his leg and shaking like a leaf.

"Oh my- you're a celestial mage! What a cute little Nikora!"

"Oh, this little gal? You'll have to excuse her, Stella gets nervous in front of new people, don't you stell?"

Cyrus sat down and reached behind him to bring up a little pink Nikora sporting a small white bow. The shaking little spirit was so cute that Lucy could feel herself forming a girlish squeal at the sight of it. Cyrus placed her in his lap where she seemed to grow slightly more comfortable and let out a small "pun~"

.

"Oh no, I completely understand. I have one of my own, actually," she said as she summoned Plue into the guild.

Her little spirit shook and gave her a wobbly smile as she scooped him up into her arms. She motioned for him to look across the table and he waved to the other Nikora. Stella shyly waved back and the two began a conversation in their strange language. Lucy looked up to see Cyrus giving the spirits a small warm smile and a feeling of familiarity welled up inside of her again and while it was a bit off putting, being in Cyrus's presence was a constant feeling of deja vu that she couldn't seem to shake off. Content with the atmosphere and lost in her thoughts for the third time that day, Lucy had forgotten the presence of Natsu until he spoke to Cyrus.

"So you're a celestial mage like Luce?"

"Yah that's right. I'm nowhere near as powerful as she is though. Stella is actually the only key that I have in my possession."

That came as quite as quite astonishing to Lucy and she couldn't help letting her mouth fall open a little bit. It was true that most of the few remaining celestial mages had nowhere near the amount of keys that she had, let alone any golden keys, as all of them belonged to her and Yukino, but it was really uncommon for any celestial mage to only have a contract with one key. Cyrus seemed to be used to that kind of reaction and let out a little chuckle at the looks on their faces.

"I've lived on a farm pretty much my entire life and didn't go into the city much so I didn't even know that I had magic until I found Stella's key out in the fields one day. I was travelling from town to town when I heard about the powerful celestial mage, Lucy of Fairy Tail. I heard story after story about you and your guild's adventures from the few celestial mages that I'm in contact with and I decided to come and see what you were really like. I don't really use my magic except to summon Stella, so I wanted to see what your magic was like since our power levels are so different."

Lucy was stunned. She had no clue that she was that popular in the celestial community and she didn't meet other celestial mages often so all of this was a bit to take in but she couldn't imagine never knowing she had magic when she was growing up. Her spirits were her only friends but even if they hadn't been, not having the connection that she had to her magic or knowing nothing about it would crush her. A sudden wave of sympathy for the young man across the table washed over her and she gave him as large of a smile she could muster.

"Well, what do you want to know?"


	6. Chapter 5: Get Some Sleep

The weeks passed and Lucy felt like everything was finally back to normal. Natsu was home and had apologized profusely for leaving on such short notice. Cyrus had been hanging around a lot recently, learning how to use his magic by watching Lucy summon spirits and fight or help others on missions. They would spend hours together in her apartment or sitting in the park next to the canal, telling each other about their stories and adventures and spirits they've met. Lucy told him all about how she met Natsu, joined Fairy Tail, her mother, her father, adventures with her guild, what happened on Tenrou and so much more. She even explained to him that the infinity clock was the cause for the shortage of celestial mages in Fiore. In exchange he told her about the farm he grew up on and the small village he was from, including his adoptive parents. He said that they found him on the side of the road, crying under the light of the stars. He told her about his travels, all the countries he'd been to, and all of the amazingly different people that he met along the way.

Something between them just seemed to click and the two were quick friends. Lucy felt like she and Cyrus had been friends all their lives. That feeling of familiarity that she felt around him never really went away but instead of making her uneasy it now made her feel safe and sure, as if nothing would feel familiar without him. He and Natsu also seemed to get along famously. The two men were quite similar in that they both were brave, adventurous, and fiercely loyal. When Natsu dragged Lucy on ambitiously dangerous missions, Cyrus was always tagging along with a boxy grin on his face and a hearty laugh coming from his chest. When he had joined the guild, he placed his red guild mark directly over his heart to symbolize his dedication to Fairy Tail and all of its nakama.

In the silence of her apartment's living room Lucy smiled softly down at the teacup in her hands at the memory. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but Lucy knew Cyrus would be a special addition to their circle of friends. Everything had changed, but somehow nothing had. Cyrus was new but it soon became very clear how much he _belonged_. His spirit and his energy added a new color to the spectrum of Fairy Tail members but it blended in perfectly just the same. Lucy sipped her tea and watched the dust particles swirl in the light filtering through her curtains and enjoyed the peace and quiet. She spent the next few hours cleaning, reading a book Levy had recommended to her, and working on her novel before she sat down and placed her hair in a messy bun for the third time that day. The afternoon felt so peaceful and Lucy knew that of course it couldn't have lasted long when she heard her bedroom window slide open. Lucy began to prepare herself to scold Natsu for trying to sneak into her house again. If she was being truthful, she didn't actually mind him coming over but she still felt the responsibility to try to teach him proper manners. Normal people wouldn't let him get away with it as often as she did. She closed her eyes when she heard Natsu curiously call her name from the bedroom.

"Luce?"

"In here, Natsu."

As much as the familiarity she felt around Cyrus comforted her, nothing could replace the comfort that Natsu's presence provided her. Just hearing the soft thud of his feet in the hallway caused her shoulders to release tension that she hadn't even realized was there.

"Natsu, you can't just come into people's homes you know. One of these days I'm really gonna kick you out."

He gave her a cheeky grin and plopped down onto the couch and Lucy scooted into his warmth, already forgiving him for being so incredibly invasive.

"Sorry Lucy, I just wanted to hang out with you, and you know I hate seeing your landlady on your staircase. She's always giving me creepy looks."

He scrunched his face up in distaste and Lucy giggled.

"'Sides, it's worth it as long as I get to see you."

Lucy looked up to see Natsu lean his head on the back of the couch and close his eyes. The poor guy was probably exhausted; they _had_ been on a lot of missions lately, trying to teach Cyrus about his magic and how to use it. Natsu wasn't really one to be tuckered out very easily but now that Lucy had the time to look, she could see slight dark circles under his eyes and hear his breathing already beginning to slow.

"Hey Natsu, why don't you go take a nap in my room while I make us some dinner."

"But Luce, I want to hang out with you."

His pout really was too cute, just like a child.

"I'll still be here when you wake up. Please?"

"Alright."

He stood up off the couch and slowly made his way into her bedroom. Lucy walked into the kitchen and smiled when she heard a giant flop and a high pitched squeak come from her bed frame. He'd be out like a light. Lucy got to work on making some spicy chicken for the both of them. She took her time wanting to give Natsu a bit of a longer nap. She placed the chicken in the oven and put on a movie to watch while it cooked then after taking it out, she made some rolls to accompany their food and pulled down a bottle of wine. Lucy didn't usually drink but she was in a good mood tonight and it wasn't like she was planning on getting trashed; that was Cana's hobby, not hers.

She went to shake Natsu awake in her bedroom and sighed at his yawn. He really needed to sleep more, she thought to herself as she used her hand to smooth away his bedhead. Natsu could be rash, and dangerous and sometimes downright terrifying but most of the time he was a bit like a puppy. He ate a lot, appreciated small acts of physical affection, and was constantly bouncing off the walls. She began to wonder how much sleep he usually got and worried about if he was taking proper care of himself. He followed her into the dining room and sat down at the table as Lucy went to grab the food out of the kitchen. She set their plates down on the dining table along with napkins, glasses, the wine and a small candle. Natsu was about to dig in, when Lucy stopped him with an outstretched hand. She reached towards the center of the table to grab the candle and used it to light Natsu's chicken on fire, just the way he liked it. He smiled, thanked her, and then they both proceeded to eat their meals in companionable silence. Lucy hadn't realized the lights were off until the sun started to go down and the candle cast a faint golden glow over Natsu's tanned cheeks, illuminating his broad smile and light dusting of freckles. His dark eyes held a small shine that Lucy couldn't seem to look away from. Maybe it was the wine she'd had, but to Lucy the atmosphere suddenly felt much more intimate than before and she blushed. Putting a mental stop on the wine for the rest of the night, Lucy looked away from Natsu's face to the table and noticed that they had both finished their meals. She collected the dishes and moved to place them in the sink and clean the rest of the table while Natsu made his way over to plop onto the couch.

"Whatcha watchin' Luce?"

"I was watching a movie while I was waiting for the chicken finish, something about a mermaid princess. There's a lot of singing for some reason, but it's really fun and I think the princess is really pretty."

"Wanna finish it? It feels like forever since we had a movie night."

Lucy hesitated because of the intimacy she had felt earlier but chalked it up to the wine and brushed it off.

"Sure Natsu."

They finished the movie and spent the rest of the night talking about it. Natsu kept saying that the princess's hair kind of looked like fire and happened to really enjoy the silliness of it all. Lucy snuggled into his side and sucked up his body heat as he turned the movie on again to watch for a second time so that he could see the beginning of it. She soon felt herself drifting off in Natsu's arms but was so tired that she couldn't seem to make herself care. She fell asleep to Natsu gently stroking her hair and singing off key along with the movie.

Lucy woke up wrapped in strong warm arms and sighed at how comfortable it was and closed her eyes to snuggle further into the person holding her. She constantly yelled at him for sneaking into her bed at night, but Lucy always slept better with Natsu there and it became a regular thing for them, not that they'd tell the rest of the guild that. She yawned and stretched her body out, causing Natsu to give a small whimper and adjust to get comfy again. Lucy smiled softly and untangled herself from her best friend and stood up off the couch. She gently brushed his bangs out of his eyes and walked to the bathroom for a shower, because Natsu's body heat, while comfortable, always made her sweat a little and she felt a little gross after all the cleaning she got done yesterday. She turned the water to the cooler side to try to wake herself up and began to meticulously wash herself. She closed her eyes and began to quietly hum a tune from last night's movie and enjoyed the way the water cooled her skin. Lucy got out of the shower when her fingers began to feel pruney and toweled herself off. She wrapped her hair into a towel and stepped into her room to change into clothes for the day. Lucy found it to be pretty quiet as she got ready in the bathroom and assumed that Natsu was probably still asleep on her couch and decided to let him get the extra rest since he clearly needed it.

Author's Note: Hello there! I'm the author of this story. Some of you may be wondering why I decided not to leave an author's note until the fifth chapter and the answer to that question is that I honestly just couldn't figure out how to leave a proper. Now I've given up and decided to just leave it as regular text so, let's get to the point of this note, shall we? Thank you to those that have followed the story or continued to read it. The story is progressing pretty slowly but things will begin to pick up soon, I promise. I appreciate that people like what I'm writing. I love Fairy Tail so much but believe it or not, this is the first fanfiction I've ever written. So, on that note, I would really appreciate your reviews and criticisms so that I can not only refine my writing style but also so that I can make the story enjoyable for the readers. I've been trying to upload a new chapter once or twice a week but if I can't always do that I apologize. Please continue to read and enjoy adventures with Fairy Tail.


	7. Chapter 6: A Letter for Lucy

Lucy stepped out of her bedroom to see a snoring Natsu draped across her couch and sighed. She walked into the kitchen to start making breakfast when she heard a quick but loud knock at her door. She crossed the room to open the door but found no one behind it; thinking it strange, she poked her head into the hallway and looked around to see if she could catch a glimpse of her mysterious visitor, but still found no one. She was about to close her door when she saw a small white envelope on her floor. She picked it up then closed the door to her apartment and locked it for good measure. On the front of the envelope was her first and last name scribbled hastily without her address or a return address. Clearly the letter had been hand delivered by the person who wrote it, but what Lucy found strange was that it had her first _and_ her last name but it didn't look very official and those were usually the only ones she received with Heartfilia on them. Sliding her thumb into the envelope to tear it open Lucy grew curious as to what she would find and who would be sending her a letter at all. She pulled a folded up piece of paper from the inside and opened it up to read what was inscribed.

 _They're coming for it. Then for you. Get ready._

Lucy stared down at the strange letter in confusion and blinked a few times. She turned the paper over to see if there was anything else and found it to be blank.

"How strange…"

"What's strange?"

Lucy jumped into the air and shrieked at the sudden question in surprise. Lost in her thoughts, Lucy hadn't realized that Natsu woke up when she closed her apartment door and was now staring at her with a curiosity and impatience clearly displayed on his face. Lucy placed a hand over her chest to feel her racing heart and took a breath to calm herself.

"Jeez Natsu, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

Natsu smiled at that in amusement and got up off the couch reaching for the envelope in Lucy's hands.

"Hey Luce, what's this?"

Lucy turned to see Natsu holding a picture that he had pulled out of the envelope. She took it from him and looked at it to see some sort of strange tablet. It was gold and had an odd language written into it, one that Lucy had never seen, not even in Levy's ancient language books.

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure, actually. I've never seen it before. Do you think maybe the sender had the wrong Lucy?"

"Maybe"

Natsu watched Lucy's face wrinkle in worry and confusion.

"Look Lucy," he said taking the letter from her, "don't worry about it, it's probably some stupid prank from one of your fans."

"Natsu this looks a little too specific to be some random prank."

"Whatever, I just don't think you should worry about it k?"

And with that the letter, the envelope, and the picture inside went up in a small ball of flames and then crumbled to ash within Natsu's fist.

"There, see? Like it never existed, let's head to the guild alright?"

"Alright, I hope you're right."

"Course I am. Have I ever steered you wrong Lucy?"

Lucy scoffed at his question and the large smile that accompanied it. He really was such a fool sometimes.

The walk to the guild had been quite enjoyable. The sun was out, birds were chirping, Natsu kept her entertained with his antics, and Magnolia as a whole felt incredibly lively as they passed shops, trader's markets, homes, the church, and the town's main square. Happy found them half way and happily flew next them and fooled around with Natsu, enjoying the beautiful day and the slight breeze under his wings. It was as they were passing a well-known jewelry shop that Natsu's suddenly jumped into the air with an excited shout of Lucy's name. Lucy giggled at him and asked him what he was so excited for.

"I forgot to tell you why my solo mission was such a secret!"

"Natsu, what are talking about?"

Natsu hastily reached into his bag and dug around for a bit before he fished out a gold chain necklace with a thin and delicate gold disk attached, engraved with the name Lucy in elegant script.

"Oh my- Natsu what in the world?"

"Well, I knew your birthday was coming up soon and just wanted to get out of town to get your gift without you knowing. Do you like it?"

Lucy grabbed for the necklace excitedly and smiled brightly at her partner.

"Natsu, I love it! Thank you!" She jumped at him and granted him a large hug as thanks, feeling him wrap his arms around her.

"Good, I'm glad," he said as he released her, "Why don't you try it on? I wanna see how it looks."

"Sure, could you help me out a bit? I've never been good at these things."

Natsu stepped around Lucy and brushed her long blonde hair to the side of her neck then reached over her to place the chain on her neck.

"Agh! Natsu don't pull so hard, you'll choke me."

"Sorry Lucy."

He fastened the clasp and moved her hair back into place then stepped back around her to get a good look at it. Lucy blushed under his gaze because it felt like he was inspecting her and perhaps determining whether he liked it.

"How does it look?"

Natsu smiled large and gave her a thumbs up.

"You look great Luce!"

Lucy blushed at his comment on her entire appearance instead of just the necklace. It wasn't everyday Natsu was complimenting her. It was usually some joke about her weight or creepy smile or how weird she was so the compliment happened to catch her by surprise. She gave his shoulder a light shove and continued walking.

"Whatever… idiot."

"Youuuuu liiike hiimmm!"

Lucy swore she'd skin that cat one day.

When they arrived at the guild it had been as lively as ever and Natsu immediately left her side to go pick a fight with Gray and Lucy looked around to see if she could find Cyrus or Erza. She failed to find either but did manage to spot Levy sitting down with Gajeel at their usual table. It had been days since she'd seen the pair so she decided to go sit down and chat with them for a bit.

"Levy!"

"Hey Lu! How's it going?"

"Really great, actually. How about you?"

"I'm doing alright I guess."

Lucy heard Gajeel snort at that and looked over to see him munching on a plate of bolts. Levy gave him a glare that clearly said she didn't appreciate the sound and he rolled his eyes and went back to focusing on chewing.

"I'm sorry, did I miss something?"

"Oh no, Lu, well actually, I don't know. Do you remember that artifact that I was researching?"

"Yah, you lost like weeks of sleep."

"Yup, well as soon as I had actually started to stumble across some information on the damn thing, the magic council caught wind of it and stopped by to collect every inch of research that I had collected."

"You're kidding?"

"Nope, I wish I was. It's a little maddening to be honest but they'll be coming by today to pick up[ the artifact itself and lock it up, so I guess it must be pretty important. I think they just don't want it and my research to somehow fall into the wrong hands."

Lucy nodded in understanding at Levy's reasoning.

"I don't know. Shrimp did all that work and they get to just come by and steal it all away? If you ask me, the whole thing sounds a like big load of shi-"

"Gajeel, if you don't shut up, I swear I'll have to shut you up myself."

Gajeel patted his girlfriend's hand in an attempt to calm her temper that he didn't mean to ignite. Levy was clearly done discussing the matter and the three went on to discuss other topics. Despite the occasional snide or crass comment from Gajeel, the conversation was fairly mundane, telling each other what they'd been up to lately. It felt nice to finally take break from the crazy life of a mage and just have a normal conversation on a normal day. Suddenly everything felt slowed down and the air became thick as a low hum of magic went through the guild, a magic that left a bad feeling in the pit of Lucy's stomach and then everything came back to reality as she heard

Natsu shout from the other side of the guild.

"Get down!"

 _Author's Note: Who left Lucy the mysterious letter? Why does the council want the artifact? How are things about to change for Fairy Tail? Find out in the next chapter!_

 _Alright so I hope you enjoyed this chapter, since I had a lot of fun writing it. I'm finally jumping into the main plot line. I've got so many ideas and events in store for everyone and I can't wait for you guys to read them! Once again, don't be afraid to review and let me know what you think of the story. I want to hear from the readers. I'll also start posting the chapters on tumblr. You can follow me at celsetialprincesstrash. Go ahead and message me as I'm looking to meet people within our awesome fandom! Thanks again for reading!_


	8. Chapter 7: What A Day

"Get Down!"

Lucy turned to see who was yelling but was met with a face full of Natsu's chest instead as he grabbed her around the waist and tackled her to the ground. Lucy's head hit the wooden floor with a hard thud and she soon heard a high pitched ringing in her ears, caused by the sudden explosion in the side of the guild hall. She barely heard Natsu calling her name and asking if she was okay; she nodded but couldn't do much of anything else at that moment. Natsu nodded with a grunt and a serious look crossed his face before he got up to go help the others fight off whatever was attacking them. Lucy lay on the ground and did a mental check over herself to make sure everything was still intact. She found that other than a raging headache she seemed to be okay. She opened her eyes and sat up to see a large cloud of dust and fog containing fighting mages, bursts of magic, and broken furniture. She turned over on to her hands and knees in an attempt to steady her body before standing up and through the layer of fog she saw a small foot stepping out of the fray followed by three pairs of regular sized feet. She looked up and just a little under ten feet away from her stood a small child and three adults surrounding the child in a protective formation. They wore white robes and golden hoods that billowed and whipped in the magic filled wind behind them. She couldn't get a good look at the child because it's hood was up but the adults all looked so similar that she assumed they must be siblings. They stood tall, two men and a woman, had high cheek bones, stark white hair, studious looking faces, and walked like they were made of raw power and could destroy her whenever they liked. The woman was thin and held herself with grace like a ballerina but agilely dodged attacks and quickly retaliated in a way that told Lucy, she was pretty, but dangerous. The first man was big and stocky, and must have been made of muscle. The second, however had close to the same build as the woman, he was lithe and agile, but he didn't even try to retaliate to those that attacked him. He simply dodged and kept moving, while looking back at the child in the center.

Lucy wondered what was so special about the child that they were protecting and attempted to stand to get a better look at its face, but accidentally slipped and fell to the floor with a thud. Suddenly four pairs of eyes turned in her direction, and when she looked up she locked eyes with that of the child. It felt like time had slowed to a stop and Lucy found herself captivated and unable to move. She felt held in place by a large pair of shiny golden eyes staring at her, unwavering. Looking into those eyes she felt something move around her. It was ancient and powerful; it was warm and heavy enough to taste it on her tongue and she heard a whisper move through the air in a language she couldn't understand but she felt the weight of what was said. Time came rushing back as she heard her name called from the fog. She turned to see Natsu with a look of panic spread across his face, and she looked back to see what was upsetting him but when she did the child and its protectors were gone.

Lucy stood up and brushed herself off before jogging toward Natsu to ask what was wrong but halfway there she was forced to dodge a fist flying through the air.

"Lucy?"

Lucy turned to find Gray and his arm attached to the fist that very narrowly missed her face.

"What the hell Gray?" Natsu yelled as he jogged across the room.

"Relax Ash Breathe, I didn't get her."

"Whatever, you alright Luce? Did they hurt you? I swear if they hurt you, I'll…"

Natsu ran his hands down her arms and did a once over to check for any potential injuries.

"Woah, Natsu relax. Why are you freaking out?"

Gray turned to her and looked at her like she had been absent for the entire battle.

"Lucy, are you kidding me?"

"No. What? You don't think I can take care of myself? Nothing happened."

"You were screaming…"

"I was what?"

Natsu decided to reenter the conversation after determining that she truly was, unhurt.

"You were just sitting there, staring at that kid. You were sitting there and you were crying and screaming. You scared the living shit out of me!"

"I-I had no idea. I thought-I mean, it all just felt so unreal. That kid, he was, I don't even know. I can't explain it."

Lucy looked around at the chaos that was beginning to subside and as the dust began to settle she noticed many of her friends helping each other up off the ground and towards the guild's infirmary. She couldn't help but laugh at the turn things had taken today. One minute she's listening to Gajeel and Levy bicker and the next her guild is being attacked by mysterious people and a child that messes with people's heads. She was giggling pretty badly when she heard Gajeel mutter under his breathe from the table next to them.

"Can't believe you're actually laughin' right now. There ain't nothin' funny about it."

It didn't take a lot of effort for Natsu's dragon enhanced ears to hear Gajeel brooding and he laughed a little along with Lucy.

"Aw, c'mon gear head. You gotta admit it's a little funny."

"I just don't think she has the right to laugh when she's the one that let them get away. She just sat there screamin' bloody murder and watched 'em walk away."

"Why don't ya just shut up."

"Come over here and make me!"

At that, a wicked grin spread across Natsu's face and he lunged toward Gajeel with a flaming fist. The two men continued to brawl and eventually accidentally dragged quite a few other guild members into it, including an injured but eager Cyrus. Instead of cleaning or treating their own injuries, Lucy's guild mates had decided to now fight each other. Typical.

Lucy made her way to the bar for a stiff drink, she deserved one after the day she'd had. She sat down and was almost immediately joined by a disgruntled Levy. She was sporting a few nasty scratches and Lucy couldn't tell if they were from the mysterious attacks or the guild. The boys fought pretty nasty sometimes and more often than not others got caught in the fray. The two women sat in silence, both appreciating the fact that the other was giving them some time to relax and get their wits about them. Lucy was well into nursing her second drink when Levy broke the silence.

"Ive been thinking."

"That's not exactly uncommon for you Levy, thinking about what?"

"The artifact. Those people, the ones that attacked us, they stole it."

"You're kidding!"

"I wish I was. Damn, I spent so much time researching it. Now I'll probably never get to know what it actually was or why it was so god damn important. You know who I really feel bad for though?"

"The poor guy that gets to go back to the magic council and tell them it was stolen?"

"It's like you read my mind."

Lucy looked down into her drink and watched the ice bob up and down. She couldn't help but wonder about the letter she had received that morning. They're coming for it. Was somebody trying to warn her? Then again, the letter had said they would come for her as well and here she was, sitting safely at the bar in her guild. She wrote it off as paranoia after an attack and asked Mira for another drink. She got a funny look, since even more than one drink was pretty out of the norm for Lucy but she just gave a pleading smile and waited patiently.

She spent the afternoon talking to an exhausted Levy, helping clean both the new and old messes in the guild, and keeping Natsu from starting another brawl with passing guild members. On her way home Lucy looked off at the setting sun and imagined what her mother would make of the day she'd had.


	9. Chapter 8: Family Talk

A week passed as the guild rebuilt and focused on returning to their normal routine. Lucy was spending her time reading a book on the couch in Cyrus's new apartment with her feet resting in Natsu's lap as he amused himself with small fire tricks that he had been working on. The book was something Levy had recommended to her; a riveting tale of adventure and a romance between two mages. She was just finishing reading the ending when she heard a small crash from the kitchen.

"You alright in there, Cyrus?"

He responded with an embarrassed laugh, "Yeah, I just slipped on a little water on the floor and dropped my glass. It's alright, I've got a broom in my room."

"Well, do you need help, I could go grab the broom if you want?"

"No!" Cyrus burst from around the corner, wide eyed. Lucy looked at him and could see a hint a nervousness before his usual smile returned to his face. "I'll get it, you just keep reading, you look so comfortable already."

He gave her a quick suggestive wink before turning down the hall towards his bedroom. Lucy was puzzled for a moment before she glanced down towards her feet and noticed Natsu absent-mindedly rubbing her leg all the way up to her mid-thigh and back down. She felt her face grow hot with a blush and immediately snatched her legs from his lap and pulled them to her chest. Natsu extinguished his flames and looked at her red face with confusion. Lucy was breathing a little unevenly when Cyrus came back into the room and he snickered at the look on Lucy's face. In attempt to relinquish some nervousness as well as remove Natsu's attention from her face, she chucked her now finished novel at Cyrus's head. His sudden sputtering and foolish expression caused Lucy to smile and then launch into a fit of giggles. Natsu was baffled.

"What the hell Luce? What's so funny?"

At that Cyrus began to join in with his own hearty laugh and pretty soon the two were laughing themselves to tears. For the life of him Natsu couldn't understand what was happening but as long as Lucy was laughing he decided it didn't really matter. He just closed his eyes, leaned back and listened. His favorite sound had always been the crackling of burning wood but lately he found it to be Lucy's laugh. Lucy worked hard to make herself look a certain way in public but when she laughed, and he meant really laughed, not that stupid fake laugh that she did for the lame joke of whatever date she had that week, she let it all go. Her shoulders loosened, her nose scrunched up, her eyes screwed shut, and she sounded so free. Listening to her laugh was akin to the feeling of sunshine on his skin; light and incredibly warm. She was his best friend, so he took her laugh as reassurance that she was happy and safe. That was all he really wanted, was for his guild to be safe and happy, especially Lucy.

Across Magnolia the guild was bustling and alive with laughter and merriment. Mages conversed and spoke of recent adventures and the strong aroma of alcohol wafted across the room as beer sloshed out of clinking mugs in celebration of a finished rebuilding of the guild. All of this went unnoticed by Fairy Tail's resident solid script mage, who was holed up in the guild library speedily reading through a plethora of books about ancient artifacts. A grumpy Gajeel sat beside her and huffed as he blew a stray piece of hair from his face. He'd been thinking about cutting it lately. It was becoming a hassle.

 _Just like this damn artifact._

Gajeel heaved a heavy sigh and missed the slight twitch of his girlfriend's eye.

 _She looks so great in those little red glasses, so focused._

He got up and made his around the table to take a look at Levy's tall stack of books.

 _But…_

He picked the top book up from the pile and noticed the one below it began to teeter on the edge and in the process of trying to fix it knocked the entire pile over onto the desk in front of Levy.

… _he always thought she looked best…_

"GOD DAMMIT, GAJEEL!"

… _Angry._

Levy slammed her hands onto the desk and shoved herself out of her seat. She turned to him with a furious glare and gritted teeth. "Is this that awful for you, because you don't have to be here ya know?"

Levy's jaw was clenched and her hair was messy from the lazy bun she had placed it in earlier. There were heavy bags under her eyes and her neck was beginning to hurt from leaning over books for hours on end. So suffice it to say that she was not in the best of moods that day.

"Believe me, I don't want to be here shorty but if I'm not I don't know when I'll get to spend time with you again! You spent weeks losing sleep over this damn thing, and now even after your research was taken and the fucking rock was stolen you continue to spend your time on it. You're up here reading through book after book every single fucking day! Do you even remember when was the last time you let me take you out?"

Levy's fury died down for a moment. How long _had_ it been? Days? _**Weeks**_ _._

 _ **Oh**_ _…_

"I'm sorry Gajeel. It's just, this thing, I can't explain it. There's something _off_ about it. I spent weeks researching and still couldn't even find out what it is or where it came from, just stories about it being stolen from people over the centuries in search of power. It's just some stupid rock, so why does everybody want it so bad? I just won't feel right until I know."

"I get it Shrimp, but I need you. Look at you. Its stressing you out and not having you around is stressing me out. I need you. Please Levy…"

Levy was used to hearing his nicknames for her but hearing her name from his lips always made her heart skip a small beat.

"Okay…"

She didn't like spending all of this time away from him, but she guessed she underestimated how much it was affecting him and straining their relationship. She had grown irritable over the weeks and had snapped at him for no good reason more than once. She suddenly felt a wave of guilt wash over and looked to her feet in shame, feeling a few tears spring to the corners of her eyes.

"I'm sorry Gajeel."

She felt the tears slide down her cheeks and closed her eyes to try to stop them. Gajeel's chest tightened a bit at the sight.

 _Shit. Please don't cry._

He hated seeing her cry, especially when he was the one responsible. He was never good with words so they fought quite a bit but he never failed to feel like a complete dickhead whenever he made her cry. She deserved better than that

"Hey."

He sighed as she ignored him and stepped forward to take hold of her chin, tilting her head up to face him.

"Hey. Listen baby, don't cry. Please don't cry. It's okay, alright? I'm sorry for being such an ass." He gave her a lopsided grin. "Forgive me?"

She giggled at his signature way with words and nodded her head furiously. His grin turned into a content smile as he began to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

"Good, now wipe these tears and get back to being my big strong girlfriend would ya?"

"Big?"

"Oh I'm sorry did I say big? I meant little, tiny, short, puny. Those work for ya?"

She laughed and playfully smacked his arm. He gave her a mischievous smile before picking her up and tossing her over his shoulder.

"Gajeel!"

"C'mon, Shorty. I'm taking you out on a date! You can get to studying later."

He descended the stair case with heavy footsteps and Levy hid her face from the hoots and hollers directed towards them as they walked out of the guild.

"Stupid Gajeel," she muttered under her breathe.

He smiled and playfully smacked her ass with a "gihee."

They made their home but unfortunately, never made their way to the restaurant Gajeel had in mind. There were more pressing matters as they began to think about all of the _other things_ they had been missing out on and decided to spend some quality time in bed. They'd have time for a date later.

Gajeel would make sure of it.

After an eventful day Lucy and Natsu decided to stay the night at Cyrus's instead of walking all the way across town to Lucy's apartment. Natsu had fallen asleep on the couch, so now it was just Lucy and Cyrus sitting on the floor and talking the night away. In the background Lucy could hear a faint melody playing from the music lacrima and she tilted her head back and lost herself in it for a moment before Cyrus spoke.

"How do you do it?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

He sighed, "How do you do it? All of this. It's just, after I left home it was fun but I realized I had no idea what I was doing. I was so lost without someone telling me where to go. You've been doing this for so long, being an adult, taking care of yourself, and you've handled everything that's happened to you so well. I guess I was just wondering. How do you do it without wanting to explode?

Lucy laughed a little at his last question. He was right. She had been taking care of herself for a long time, and maybe she felt a little lost or lonely sometimes, but thanks to Fairy Tail she hadn't felt that way in a long time,

"I guess I felt that way for a while, along while actually. It can be pretty lonely on your own and confusing, but being in Fairy Tail makes most of that go away. I never feel alone or lost because I know that they will always be there for me."

He smiled and looked down.

"Yeah, I think I'm starting to see that. It feels like I've got a second family. For the first time in my life I feel like I'm where I belong."

That struck Lucy and something inside of her stirred with familiarity. She often felt like her and Cyrus were similar in a lot of ways. They both loved to read, were deep thinkers, and believed all beings to be equal and deserving of the same mercy and respect. And now this. They both felt like they were living the wrong life before they joined Fairy Tail, nothing else just seemed to fit. But there were things that made them different as well…

"What's it like, having parents?"

Lucy could see the questioning in his eyes. She couldn't blame him, it was a weird question.

"It's just, most of the people in Fairy Tail, they didn't really grow up with parents. All they really had was each other and I know I had my dad, but I mean not really. I was ignored for a lot of my life so I kind of had to figure life out for myself and then I ran away. I guess I mean to ask, what's it like to have normal parents? "

"Oh…"

It was silent as Cyrus grew embarrassed, he hadn't really thought about it before and he didn't want to make Lucy sad or look like he was bragging.

"Well…It's a bit like" -he smiled to himself– "like having a north star. I remember reading one of those star books you gave me and it said that people used to use the north star to make maps. It's like that. Growing up, no matter how bad I messed up, I always knew that I could go to them for guidance or comfort. They were my biggest heroes. At the same time though, I wish I could have treated them better. I was pretty rebellious as a kid and I didn't always treat them well and when I left, it was so sudden and I never really took into consideration how they would feel about it. Sometimes I wonder if they miss me…"

"I'm sure they do."

They sat there on the floor, eyes looking towards the carpet. They were unaware of the large pair of onyx eyes watching them from the couch. Natsu had woken up around when Lucy was telling Cyrus about Fairy Tail and was relaxing to the sound of her voice. He had to admit that it was interesting hearing what it was like to have parents. All he had ever had was Igneel, and he was a god damn dragon. Now that he thought about it, the other dragon slayers were the closest thing he had to blood family.

He looked up when he smelled something that made his heart hurt. Lucy was looking at the floor and silent tears were running dripping from her eyelashes and running down her beautiful face. He sat up off the couch and saw her eyes widen when she realized he was awake but she immediately turned her back down to the carpet so that he wouldn't see her cry. He hated seeing her cry, he decided that the only thing worse than seeing it was being the one to cause it. He leant down to hold Lucy in his arms like he always did when he wanted to soothe away her tears.

Being held by Natsu only made her cry harder and a sob climbed its way out of her throat. He tightened his hold on her and began to gently stroke her hair, quietly uttering soothing sounds. She hugged him back and the words that came out made him understand the sudden tears.

"I miss her so much."

He closed his eyes and nodded his head.

"I know Luce, I know. Shh. Its ok. I'm here now, It'll all be ok."

Cyrus wiped a stray tear from his cheek and felt guilt settle itself deep in his stomach.

He missed his parents too.


End file.
